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Category Archives: process

Turn your body at an angle so you can’t see your hand. Look entirely at the object, not at the paper. Feel or sense the line with your eyes and coordinate that with your hand as you draw. Don’t take your eyes off the flower, the face, the shoe.

In the modified version, if you lose your place you can glance, but only to reposition the pencil. While drawing your eyes are on the flower, the shoe, the person continuously. The paper’s still a mystery.

Move your hand with your eyes. They have to go together. You may think you can’t see, but you’re seeing better. Using your eyes to see, not your idea. Don’t cheat, don’t look. You’re seeing, not looking. Seeing.

With a little color

I’d never heard of this technique before. Here was something I’d certainly never be able to pull off myself, no way, but all it took was to try. And a little practice.

Feel this line. Use your eyes to feel. Feeling’s always been one of the things I’ve excelled at, for better or worse. Even in those more troubled times when it didn’t seem I was good for much else. Even when it seemed feeling had no function, also. I remember not to forget this.

If you could feel words to write expressively, then why wouldn’t you be able to feel a line too, then? I’m not sure what it is about drawing simple lines that’s felt so intimidating before, although the few here and there noncommittal messy sketches had seemed okay.

Does this get better or easier… well for reference here were the first and second attempts which preceded the drawing pictured above, completed within the same session.